Monday, December 29, 2008

I would like to let you ALL know that I have an amazingly wonderful friend who sent me these in pink and green for Christmas. She saw this post back in the day...and must have made a mental note :) We had a teeny snafu with the first order...hah, so I was excited to get the perfect ones in the mail yesterday!

THANK YOU cBr for being an amazing friend, former roommate, and sister in Christ.

I'm happy as a clam.

PS -- I'm rallying for her to start her own blog. It needs to happen ASAP. K, thanks.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

After an early morning (due to the 13 year old brother pictured above) of opening beautiful gifts, eating lots of yummy breakfast food, and a big afternoon nap, the family and I are planning to drive around town to look at Christmas lights together. It's a tradition :)

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Homegirl here thinking that these drugs aren't doing a dern thing. Mother and Daddy tell me that when I was little and was given pain medicine, I got wide-eyed and crazy. So...that is what we have here ladies and gents. Took a Vicodin and I am rip-rearing, ready to go. nutso.

Word on the street is that the doc had trouble getting me to go to sleep with the IV so they juiced me up even more. Then, my BP got realllllly low so then gave me more medicine to bring me back...and guess what happens? I wake up during surgery. cOoL. not.

As we are leaving the office, I have complete feeling in my mouth. cOoL. not.

I did get to talk to the Boy. He tells me that he would rather be here taking care of me than skinning a bear. I feel honored. ha ha ha.

Friday, December 12, 2008

I had the privilege of joining the Boy for Sunday lunch last week after church. He decided to treat me to my first visit at The Weathervane. I had no idea I was in for such a lovely, Southern experience. Located off 15-501 in University Mall in Chapel Hill, NC, this restaurant once started as a teeny treasure located within A Southern Season. Since 1975, The Weathervane has blossomed and is no longer a cafe but an acclaimed restaurant dedicated to serving the beaus and belles of the South.

When browsing their website, I can across this letter by the founder of the restaurant and wanted to share:

"We all smile when folks notice that A Southern Season's weathervane has all it's arrows pointing south. It's symbolic of traditions where service and hospitality hold honor and respect, and we hope that those traditions are shared each time you choose to visit the store and the restaurant." -Michael Barefoot

Boy and I had the wonderful opportunity to browse A Southern Season while waiting for our table. At the moment I entered the store, I think my jaw dropped. I was in heaven and thinking to myself that I have been living in a hole if I've never stepped foot in such an amazing place. Word on the street is that the Boy loved watching my eyes light up as I discovered such treasures:

Not to mention that the assortment of paper goodness was beyond belief...Crane & Co., kate spade, and PAPYRUS... so yummy.

Beloved Craig Claiborne of the NY Times labeled A Southern Season "wall to wall and floor to ceiling, a visual and gustatory delight" and I could not agree more. Politely devouring my fried green tomatoes, cheddar scrambled eggs, and fresh fruit, this little lady was in Southern heaven. I think a tradition of having Sunday Lunch there wouldn't be too shabby.

I'm just sayin'.And thank you to CGL for such an amazing lunch. Let's go again...my treat!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Attn: I am VERY picky when it comes to picking out a planner. I have a busy life...and I have to write down many lovely things for each day so most importantly it has to have enough writing space. It has to be classic, with clean lines, and with a solid color palette. duh.

So...after a month of searching for the 2009 planner, I found one. Finally.Barnes & Noble. And it's navy and green. With a beautiful blue ribbon. cream pages and navy print.

It makes me smile. freakin fabuloso. I'm thinking about filling it all in with dates instead of doing my final projects. hm...

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

You all should know that I'm a huge fan of John Piper. One of the best books I've read is Don't Waste Your Life by Piper -- I read it while traveling in Ecuador and shared it with my friends so they could read encouraging snippets. I've also had the opportunity to hear him speak at a conference in Atlanta.

I came across this poem that John Piper wrote for his son's wedding ceremony. It is beautiful in every way. Last stanza = amazing.

The Wedding Poem

The God whom we have loved, and inWhom we have lived, and who has beenOur Rock these twenty-two good years

With you, now bids us, with sweet tears,To let you go: “A man shall leaveHis father and his mother, cleaveHenceforth unto his wife, and beOne unashamed flesh and free.”This is the word of God today,And we are happy to obey.For God has given you a brideWho answers every prayer we’ve criedFor over twenty years, our claimFor you, before we knew her name.

And now you ask that I should writeA poem - a risky thing, in lightOf what you know: that I am moreThe preacher than the poet orThe artist. I am honored byYour bravery, and I comply.I do not grudge these sweet confinesOf rhyming pairs and metered lines.They are old friends. They like it whenI bid them help me once againTo gather feelings into formAnd keep them durable and warm.

And so we met in recent days,And made the flood of love and praiseAnd counsel from a father’s heartTo flow within the banks of art.Here is a portion of the stream,My son: a sermon poem. It’s theme:A double rule of love that shocks;A doctrine in a paradox:

If you now aim your wife to bless,Then love her more and love her less.

If in the coming years, by someStrange providence of God, you comeTo have the riches of this age,And, painless, stride across the stageBeside your wife, be sure in healthTo love her, love her more than wealth.

And if your life is woven inA hundred friendships, and you spinA festal fabric out of allYour sweet affections, great and small,Be sure, no matter how it rends,To love her, love her more than friends.

And if there comes a point when youAre tired, and pity whispers, “DoYourself a favor. Come, be free;Embrace the comforts here with me.”Know this! Your wife surpasses these:So love her, love her, more than ease.

And when your marriage bed is pure,And there is not the slightest lureOf lust for any but your wife,And all is ecstasy in life,A secret all of this protects:Go love her, love her, more than sex.

And if your taste becomes refined,And you are moved by what the mindOf man can make, and dazzled byHis craft, remember that the “why”Of all this work is in the heart;So love her, love her more than art.

And if your own should someday beThe craft that critics all agreeIs worthy of a great esteem,And sales exceed your wildest dream,Beware the dangers of a name.And love her, love her more than fame.

And if, to your surprise, not mine,God calls you by some strange designTo risk your life for some great cause,Let neither fear nor love give pause,And when you face the gate of death,Then love her, love her more than breath.

Yes, love her, love her, more than life;O, love the woman called your wife.Go love her as your earthly best.

Beyond this venture not. But, lestYour love become a fool’s facade,Be sure to love her less than God.

It is not wise or kind to callAn idol by sweet names, and fall,As in humility, beforeA likeness of your God. AdoreAbove your best beloved on earthThe God alone who gives her worth.And she will know in second placeThat your great love is also grace,And that your high affections nowAre flowing freely from a vowBeneath these promises, first madeTo you by God. Nor will they fadeFor being rooted by the streamOf Heaven’s Joy, which you esteemAnd cherish more than breath and life,That you may give it to your wife.

The greatest gift you give your wifeIs loving God above her life.And thus I bid you now to bless:Go love her more by loving less.